Hands Holding the Strings of Fate
by x the sleeping insomniac
Summary: There are times when friends drift far away from each other, but in the end, all are found by each other again, as all things eventually are in the hands of Time.
1. Of Nami

**So I decided to upgrade from tiny pieces of crap to a large-scale piece of crap. **

**Anyway, I've been thinking about doing something bigger for awhile now, and this is what I thought of. Not that you probably even care, but my mom took me out to eat today, and we were talking about this kidnap that happened recently in our area and out of all the things I could've thought of, **_**Nami **_**was who I thought of. And of course I couldn't get that thought out of my head and then decided to just roll with it. **

**I guess I should get going with this thing, huh? **

**Spoilers: **from beginning of time — latest manga.

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**One Piece**_**, nor am I earning profit as a result of writing this. All copyrights associated with **_**One Piece**_** belong to Eiichiro Oda.**

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**hands holding the strings of fate.**

**chapter one: of Nami.**

by: x the sleeping insomniac

"Is there any chance that you could perhaps shop a _little _less, dear? Or at least a little less expensively?"

Nami sent her husband a glare, "You're a man, so I don't expect you to understand the luxurious tastes of a woman. I _need_ new clothes as much as I need oxygen. I warned you about this long before you asked for my hand in marriage—only you're to blame." She placed one of her hands on her hip and flipped her orange-colored bangs away from her eyes with the other.

Karasumaru Kaize sighed heavily, defeated already. "Yes, you're right about that." He ran his fingers through his chestnut-brown hair, casting his dark gaze to the wall for a moment, then back to her, "Alright then. Do what you like, just keep in mind that my money supply is not endless."

"I have my own money," she retorted.

He nodded dismissively, "Yes, yes. Are you still attending that play tonight? What's it called, something about a flower or bird . . ."

"_Yomi no Hana,"_ she corrected.

"Right, that."

Nami looked at him with an annoyed expression, "Yes, I am still going."

He nodded, then put on his coat that had been hanging on his arm for the last five minutes. "Well, I'm leaving to go take care of some business. I'll be back before the play is over," he walked over to her and placed a kiss on her cheek. "See you then. I love you."

He left, leaving Nami standing in their elaborately decorated front hall. Frowning, the richest woman in the world turned on her heels and headed for her office. What he had said about his funds starting to run low had worried her a little. She hadn't spent that much, she knew it. She bought something new every day, but Kaize earned far more than she spent. Was he spending their money on something she wasn't aware of? She had more money than anyone in the world, why should she even be worrying?

After going over everything she had spent in the last week compared to the amount of beli in the account, she rolled her eyes. Kaize was just being his usual overly-worrying self. She sighed again.

Anyone on the outside of their relationship could tell that she had only agreed to marry him because of money. Of course, the better half of everything Nami did was for money, and marrying one of the wealthiest men in the Grand Line was just for that reason. It was true that many women, and a few men, agreed that Karasumaru Kaize was nothing short of incredibly handsome, but his dull, worry wart personality was hard to simply look over.

For Nami though, it had been exceptionally easy from the moment "beli" was mentioned.

Feeling like she had nothing better to do, she opened her lowest desk draw and pulled out a half-drawn map. On it was a carefully precise drawing of Raftel, the one map that over the past five years she had just not managed to finish. Even though it had been half a decade, the redhead could still remember every minute detail of the day the Thousand Sunny had anchored on the shores of the legendary island.

Oh, and the _treasure_.

Her heart swelled at the memory. Her eyes had never seen so much gold in one place, she was sure that it had been heaven.

The half-drawn Raftel stared at her.

She picked up her pen with the motives to continue the map, but as soon as the tip touched the paper, she felt her shoulders sag and all determination fly out the window. She resisted the urge to repetitively slam her forehead onto the hard, wooden desk in front her and instead angrily threw the still unfinished drawing back into the bottom drawer where it had been living in for the last five years or so.

Nami pulled the ribbon that held her long, golden orange hair up, letting it fall down her back in a cascade of waves. She never wore it down anymore. It made her think of when she was still with her nakama, back fighting against powerful enemies and restoring kingdoms to peace, all while making the World Government tremble in anger. Now when she saw the Marine symbol on a vest or "Justice" scrawled on the back of a Marine coat, they only nodded her in polite acknowledgement. She almost missed having to pull out the Clima Tact and beating their asses.

When had her life gotten so boring?

The play was due to start in a couple of hours, so she opted to go prepare for it. She left her office and made her way to her bedroom, servants stopping to bow curtly as she walked by. Nami was annoyed by that, it was something that Kaize took joy in, not her. She didn't the people who cleaned her house, cooked her food and attended her needs to _bow_ to her—she wasn't a queen, even if she was certainly as rich as one.

She asked one of her favorite serving girls, a cute brunette with big green eyes, to help her with her hair. Of course, the girl appeared more than eager to help, but Nami felt that in truth, she was cursing herself for being so obedient and bubbly to Nami in the past. Maybe that was just Nami's paranoia talking, but she swore that the girl's normally dancing green orbs dulled a little when she asked something of her. But she always did such an excellent job, how could Nami complain . . . ?

That time had not been an exception. The servant girl, Beth was her name, pulled her long tawny hair into an elaborate twist at the crown of her head, finishing it off by wrapping a jeweled ribbon around it to hold it firmly in place. Nami thanked her kindly and sent her off, then when to go pick out her outfit.

As she gazed into her closet, she couldn't help the small feeling that maybe Kaize was right . . .

She certainly had quite the plethora of clothes. But, she had unarguably worn each and every piece of clothing she owned at least once. This time, she picked out a long, thin dress of a champagne color, trimmed with black lace. A pair of nude heels and some pearls were the final pieces of her outfit.

The hair twist had taken awhile to do, and now she had just under an hour until the play started, and she still had to meet Kaize's sister, Maya. Very much unlike her brother, Maya was the most personable person that Nami thought she had ever met since Luffy. She was funny, laid-back and easy to talk to. If Nami's husband had even an iota of his sister's personality, Nami figured that maybe she could even come to love him.

Maya looked just as ravishing as Nami did, wearing a scarlet dress with her long hair, the same color as Kaize's, tumbling over her shoulders in carefully formed curls. "Ah, Nami! Lovely as ever!" Maya exclaimed as she teetered down the steps in her heels. "I tell you, I've been waiting for so long for this play to finally premiere here. I've heard so many good things about it, and all I know about it is that it's about some sick boy who finds her true love." She smiled, accentuating her pretty features.

"Yes, and he is suddenly cured of his illness due to his newfound love, causing much confusion in the village he lives in," Nami continued, having been as excited for this particular play as Maya.

Over the last couple of years, Nami had started attending plays at the theater not far from her home in Water 7. Franky had suggested her seeing one that Paulie had suggested to him that Iceburg had suggested to him, and she was absolutely blown away by the performance, as was the rest of the audience, considering the amazing actors all received a standing ovation. But ever since then, she had become hooked on plays. They served as her only source of entertainment in her dulling life.

They handed the doorman their tickets and took their seats, which, of course, offered a perfect view of the stage. Nami listened as Maya chatted animatedly with her about her fiancé's dog that had eaten her favorite pair of shoes the other night. Nami, though an appreciator of a good pet, was glad that Kaize had a hatred for all things furry—the thought of something like that happening to her made her want to cry.

Maya quickly stopped talking when the lights dimmed and the curtain was pulled back, revealing the stage.

~xx~

"I love this play already," Maya told her as they stood to go and use the restroom during the intermission.

Nami nodded in agreement. It certainly was a nicely written and wonderfully performed, but there was something creeping in the back of her mind that she just couldn't place. The feeling had started when she had first entered the theater, but now it was stronger than ever and impossible to ignore. At first she thought it had been cramps, since it was getting to be that time of the month, but as it grew increasingly stronger, she knew it was something very different from uterine pains.

She was hoping that maybe a little fresh air would help, and once she used the bathroom she decided she would go outside to breath until the intermission was over. She let Maya know, and the younger girl looked a touch concerned, "Are you alright?" When Nami nodded, she asked, "You're sure?"

Nami nodded again, though uncertainly. She really wasn't sure. She had just dug up a memory of the feeling, and the instant she thought of it she knew that it was exactly the same feeling.

Yes, it was the feeling that she always used to get out at sea, before a big storm.

But a glance out the window in the theater's hallway told her that there was virtually no chance of a storm occurring. Stranger things than a sudden storm had occurred on the Grand Line, but Nami knew the difference between the skies that merely looked good, yet held an ominous threat, and those that really was pleasant and enjoyable all day.

And outside, the skies over Water 7 were very much the latter of the two descriptions.

The bathroom was crowded, as expected, and as she washed her hands shoulder to shoulder with several women she was familiar with, she couldn't help but feel a little claustrophobic.

The wait had been awhile, and the play would start at any minute. She looked and saw that there was only her and another woman in the bathroom left, and once her hands were dried she made to the doorway.

But as soon as she reached it, a very tall, bulky woman blocked the exit, looking down at Nami with an expression that Nami could only describe as hungry. "Um, excuse me," Nami pardoned, trying to push past the woman.

Her hand flew up and completely blocked the bathroom doorway, leaving Nami with the only option of diving between this woman's long legs that closely resembled tree-trunks. She was blocking the door on purpose, and it was making Nami mad.

Had this been four years ago, this woman would have been left in a paralyzed heap of electric energy and Nami would have already stepped over her and returned to her seat next to Maya. But this was far past the time that Nami used to carry around her Clima Tact everywhere. Four years of nothing but a few ass-grabs here and there convinced the navigator that carrying it around in her back pocket was an unnecessary precaution.

Not that this was going to prevent Nami from _letting_ this woman get in her way. After all, this was _Nami_, the richest woman in the world, Nami, the infamous navigator for the Pirate King, Nami, who had left Kalifa of the deadliest assassination division in the world, CP9, in a pathetic mess, Nami, who had been through more devastation and loss than most people could survive living through. So some inhumanly tall, overweight, ugly woman was in no way going to continue to stand in Nami's way.

As soon as Nami was about to retaliate against this hag, a bag was pulled over her head and she inhaled a sickly-sweet scent that made her head dizzy and her knees weak.

Just as her world started to become consumed by blotchy black dots that filled her vision, a pair of arms scooped her up and a coarse voice rang in her ears.

"That was easy enough—dumb broad."

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**Just to clear things up, this is six years after the start of Part II of the manga(/anime, when they get to it, I guess.) It takes a year for them to go through the New World and discover Raftel and the One Piece, and this is five years after that. That's all I really have to say for now since everything else will be further explained in later chapters. **

**Ah, also, as welcome as reviews are, I don't intend to hold these chapters ransom as a demand for reviews. Although they're a great source of inspiration, please don't feel obliged to review. I prefer them when they're raw honesty. **

**So yes, flames are welcome and so is constructive criticism, along with the "great story!" here and there. It really doesn't bother me, anything goes with reviews. **

**Anyway, I hope this doesn't turn out to be as ugly as I feel like it will—I really don't want that to happen. :/ **

**See you next chapter, then~**


	2. Of Franky

**And behold, a second chapter.**

**Keep in mind that this is a major accomplishment for me. I never dedicate this much to a petty fanfiction. **

**Or anything, for that matter . . . **

**Oh, and I meant to apologize for the terrible cliché that is Nami's kidnap. I warned you this was just large-scale crap. Maybe it'll turn out good, though, just maybe. Cross your fingers.**

**Right, well, enjoy!**

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**chapter two: of Franky.**

Splinters weren't Franky's thing. The wood he cut and carved was always perfect, no exceptions. He wasn't known as the best shipwright in the Grand Line for any slapdash work.

But it was admittedly tedious work, smoothing the rough wood out so that it glided under one's fingers. He was determined to finish the siding before the work day was over, and he was itching to go for a drink or six with Paulie later on. A carefully angled swipe of the sandpaper here, another there . . .

Franky decided he was done and admired his handiwork. He had to hand it to himself, he _was_ good. Few others could boast of such expert craftsmanship and talent for the art of shipbuilding, where Franky himself was a master. He glanced in the direction of the train station, not seeing the Puffing Tom but knowing full well that the famous sea train was there. Next to the Thousand Sunny, it was his greatest achievement and he took great pride in it.

"Franky, the work bell's about to ring," Paulie called to him from down the shipyard.

In response, Franky rose his enormous hand, fist closed with the exception of his shiny, metallic thumb. He then got to stacking the smoothed wood back where it would later be used to build the ship that Dock One of the Galley-La Company was currently building. With his massive frame, it was easy enough to lift the heavy lumber back and forth. His job was done before the work bell rang, signaling the workers that it was time to lock up the dock and leave. Franky left and waited at the dock's entrance for Paulie.

The blonde was just catching up to him when a familiar voice cried out his name in such a tone of desperation that it instantly worried the cyborg. He turned to see Karasumaru Kaize dashing towards him, his normally professional appearance shot to hell; his suit jacket was unbuttoned, his button down white shirt was only half-tucked, his trousers were low on his hips where they were typically higher and tightly fastened by a leather belt, which he seemed to be lacking. "Franky-san!" he called again, reaching him and struggling to catch his breath.

"Kaize-san? What's wrong?" Franky asked in a concerned tone.

Paulie arrived, not saying anything but looking back and forth between the two with a mildly confused expression.

"It's Nami," he wheezed, "she's . . . she's been kidnapped!"

Franky's eyes widened, "Kidnapped?" What was he talking about? Who would want to kidnap Nami? More importantly, who in their _right mind_ would want to kidnap Nami? Surely they couldn't have known who she was if they had taken her, unless they were really that stupid. There were undeniably some really stupid people in the world . . .

"She went to a play earlier this evening and never came back. My sister, she went with her, and my sister said that she went to the bathroom during the intermission and never came back, and there were reports of pirates kidnapping someone from the bathroom! It's obviously Nami!" he looked exasperated, and Franky didn't blame him. He was sure that by now Nami's husband knew all about what happened when you got the former navigator angry; she was definitely not a walk in the park when you got her steam blowing. He a hundred percent doubted that Nami had just let herself be kidnapped, and if she had put up a fight then she had to have gotten angry to some degree, and anyone who could handle an infuriated Nami was either very strong or very much out of his mind.

"Did you tell Iceburg about this?" Franky asked him.

The much shorter man nodded furiously, "Yes, yes, and then he yelled some stuff to a bunch of other people, and told me to find you and tell you about it."

Franky scratched at his chin thoughtfully. That was very much like Iceburg, he was probably ordering for the Marines to be called so they could hunt her down. "He also asked," Kaize was saying, "to inquire about any pirates that are around that could have been responsible for this."

Paulie spoke up, "Of course, there're always a helluva lot of pirates around! All pirates are suspicious!"

The cyborg eyed the carpenter wryly, but refrained from saying any of the various opinions he had on that statement and just ignored the comment altogether. "There are a lot of pirates around."

Kaize ran his hand over his face in frustration, "Any that look like they're capable of stealing an innocent woman away?"

Franky thought about this for a moment. Firstly, he wouldn't really call Nami an innocent woman, in fact she was far from it. He thought of the damage she had done in all of the various places they had been as a pirate crew, and "innocent" was far from the last word he would ever use to describe her. "Most of them, actually . . ." Franky thought of the pirates he had seen around town, and although none of them looked all that harmful, they certainly all reeked of the desire for fame, and stealing away the Pirate King's old navigator was a sure way to make headlines.

The young man in front of him looked beyond hope. Franky himself was nervous. Nami was one of his nakama, and the Mugiwara disbanded or not, a nakama once was a nakama always. He had a feeling that if Nami wasn't recovered very shortly, word would soon reach Luffy, and that would be the end of that. The pirates who had taken Nami would be wiped clean off the face of the earth.

"Go home, Kaize-san. We'll see what we can do. One way or another, we'll get Nami back," Franky told him, narrowing his eyes towards the sea to the east. He gazed at the unfamiliar masts of the pirate ships, jolly rogers raised in pride. He remembered seeing a certain jolly roger, years ago, in the docks of this very city, the straw hat emblem forever blazed in the back of his eyes.

Thankfully, Kaize obliged and left, leaving Franky and Paulie standing in front of the entrance to Dock One. After a period of silence, Paulie looked up to Franky and said, "So I guess we're not going for drinks tonight, then?"

Franky shook his head. "What I need right now is some time to think about this. And sleep."

Paulie nodded, "Being seeing you, then." He raised a hand in goodbye and shoved his hands in his pants pockets, starting his way down the street.

With a heavy frown on his face, Franky turned and headed in the opposite direction as the blonde carpenter. His heavy footsteps echoed along the narrow street, but Franky didn't notice. He felt horrible.

He and Nami were the only two that ended up staying on the same island together. Everyone else had gone their separate ways, some farther than others, and some never even staying in the same place. So out of all of them, they were the two who should run into the least trouble, right? They had each other. Franky and Nami met at least once a week, usually to go out for lunch or to see the occasional play, when Franky felt like he could manage sitting through one, (honestly, he regretted suggesting that play to her a couple years back, now she was hooked on them like they were some powerfully addictive drug.)

But now she was _kidnapped_? That sounded so terribly cliché to Franky that he almost wanted to retch. Who even kidnapped people anymore? He didn't think he'd even heard the word since the Mugiwara Pirates' run-in with Vander Decken on Fishman Island.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and made an exhausted sound. What was wrong with him? He was entrusted with keeping an eye on one lousy nakama, and now look what had happened.

His house — which was more of a garage, really — had never seemed so welcoming. He sunk into his couch and wondered what in the name of some entity should he do now?

Franky wouldn't contact the others without orders from Luffy first. When and only when his captain told him to would be the time to summon all of them. He gazed across the room at the mantel that was almost invisible in the shadows cast by the setting sun. On the mantel was the communication device that Luffy could contact him with. With the distance, it would too hard to have all the of the crew have a communication device of the same nature, so instead of that they got an alarm that would go off if they were needed. In that alarm was an eternal pose that lead not to an island, but to the Thousand Sunny. Franky had constructed them himself before they all went their separate ways and started new lives with their newly obtained treasure.

~xx~

He had no idea he had fallen asleep, but late the next afternoon, he awoke to the most obnoxious ringing noise that Franky thought he had ever heard in his life. He blinked his eyes open tiredly, thankful he didn't have work that morning, and searched for the source of the horribly annoying noise.

Across the room, sitting on the mantel, the communication device was blinking a vermillion red and vibrating with the intensity of the ringing coming from its speakers.

Luffy was contacting him.

Franky wasn't sure he had ever gotten up so fast. He leaped across the room and picked up the receiver without hesitation. "Franky here," he said, putting his ear up to the speaker.

"Franky?" came Luffy's voice from the speaker, so much louder than he thought that he jumped in surprise, recoiling from the speaker for a moment before returning to it.

"Yeah, I'm here," he responded.

"Nami's been kidnapped! The newspaper today said it, it says it happened yesterday," he said, a little calmer. Franky noted that his captain's voice sounded a little cooler, not as shrill as it used to be, but at the same time it was still just as he remembered it.

He scratched his head, "Yeah, she was. I was waiting for orders from you."

Luffy made a disapproving noise, "Well, my orders are to call the others there, immediately! We'll show them what happens when they hurt one of our nakama."

Franky nodded, unable to prevent the wave of excitement that ran through him, "I will."

Luffy must have cancelled the connection, because the line went dead, and Franky didn't hear anything, not even the static that gathered over the long distance. He hung up the receiver, then stood there for a moment in empty thought.

Suddenly, it occurred to him that immediately meant at that moment, and he ran out of his front door, and started sprinting to his special dock where the Thousand Sunny was sitting. His feet carried him fast, pushing past people and turning sharp corners when he needed to. The specially built dock wasn't too much farther from where he lived, but he found that he was hurrying as if his life depended on it.

_No_, he decided, _not my life, Nami's._

Perhaps it was an exaggeration, but Franky knew that a small part of his thought was true. Pirates were for the most part all the same, the only exceptions were the greats, and since he hadn't recognized any of the jolly rogers down in the docks, he doubted any of them were considered "great." Nami was for the most part defenseless without her Clima Tact, which Franky assumed she didn't have with her considering she had gotten kidnapped in the first place. With that strange weather-wielding mechanism, any pirate's ass would have been laid out on a platter if they had tried to take her.

Franky reached the Thousand Sunny, and for once didn't pause to admire it. He dashed right inside and into the very small communications room. He examined the cupboards and drew a blank. He completed forgot where he had _put _the damn alarm trigger . . .

He sided with rummaging through all the cupboards until he found it, which he eventually did. He tore it out of the mess of unused wires and looked at it for a moment until he inhaled sharply and flicked the alarm switch on. Seven red squares began blinking, one for each of the Mugiwara Pirates, excluding himself and Luffy. They'd stop blinking when they got the message.

He exhaled deeply and started to the door of the communications room, ready to leave the Sunny once again. But, before he left, two of the dots stopped blinking, the third one and the last one — Usopp and Brooke. A moment later the first one stopped, so Zoro had gotten the message. The fourth one stopped blinking when Franky jumped down the Sunny's decks; Sanji. Robin's stopped blinking by the time he was halfway to his house, and just as he walked into his house, the fifth one, Chopper's, ceased it's flashing, and all that was left was the second light.

Nami's.

Guilt surged through Franky. He put the alarm trigger down on his coffee table and went back outside. His gaze landed on the handful of pirate ships gathered in the dock, and with angry determination, set off towards them. While he waited the long amount of time that it would take for them all to arrive there on Water 7, he could at least find out which of the pirates had taken Nami.

Dark was falling when he reached the docks. He examined them from a safe distance, they wouldn't be able to see his massive form from anywhere on their decks where he was. The one thing that Franky couldn't decide on was which of them had Nami, the most powerful looking of them, or the stupid-looking ones. It was either one or the other.

After carefully thinking out which was more feasible, he placed his bet on the dangerous ones. This far into the Grand Line, someone stupid enough to kidnap the navigator of the Pirate King would've already been conquered by the ruthless sea. It had to be the ones with the most power and strength. Or the biggest ego. The most powerful could be very humble and not think themselves to be strong enough to face Luffy's crew, while a weaker crew with an ego as big as the sea could think that they were the best thing since sliced bread and carried the attitude that they could crush Luffy in a nanosecond.

But _humble_? Who was he kidding? These were pirates.

He decided that the most likely crew would be the ones with the jolly roger of a half black, half white skull with double-edged swords crossing behind them. The jolly roger looked somewhat familiar, so Franky figured that he had read about them somewhere or something, and he had seen a few of their crew on the decks, and they looked like they shouldn't be messed with.

With some information gathered, Franky turned to return to Water 7's mainland and inform Iceburg of his judgment. But he took on step and all of a sudden, a warm, sickly feeling washed over him and he swayed back and forth on his feet. Then, a bag was pulled over his head, blocking his vision. He lashed out with his arms, but they felt heavy and useless.

He collapsed onto his hands and knees, his body shaking. He felt like he was getting weaker and weaker with each passing minute.

"Get Boulder, we'll need help bringing him back," a voice echoed around in his brain.

He shivered and fell, collapsing completely. He felt his breathing slow and his world spin as he closed his eyes for what he thought was for good.

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**Oh, the suspense.**

**Hah, I'm sure you're just **_**hanging**_** onto the edge of you seat in anticipation. This'll get better, I swear. **

**And remember, I said better, not good. That'll be decided when it's all done. If that even happens. **

**Reviews are nice. :3**


	3. Of Luffy

**Things will get a little less lame now. Pinkie promise. **

**I mean after all, Luffy's here now. **

**And not to confuse you, this chapter begins before the kidnap.**

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**chapter three: of Luffy.**

The people of Mock Town immediately recognized him, and while some cowered away at the sight of him, most cheered out his name in greeting, broad smiles on their faces. They loved him there, and it certainly wasn't the first time he had visited Jaya, and most definitely would not be the last. He had turned the town from a bunch of irritating, trigger-happy pirates to a crowd of fun-loving guys who were perfectly content to just drink their sake and have a good laugh with their nakama.

Monkey D. Luffy grinned and returned the greetings, striding towards his favorite bar for something to eat. He felt like he hadn't had food in _ages_, and he was dying for a big piece of meat to enjoy.

Of course, his favorite bar happened to be the very same bar that he and Zoro were beat up by Bellamy and his crew, six years ago. He sighed, feeling a pang in his heart at the thought of his nakama. He missed them a lot, but they had gone to live out their dreams, Luffy wanted that for all of them. Sure, he saw them every now and then, but it didn't even come close to comparison to the togetherness that they had all shared while they were all aboard the Going Merry and the Thousand Sunny, together and smiling. Sometimes he regretted agreeing to have all of them go their separate ways.

The last he had seen of any of them had been too long ago already. He had seen Robin about a month ago when he had visited Alabasta. He saw Vivi there, too, who he hadn't seen in what felt like centuries. Out of everyone, Robin seemed the most content with her hew life, leading scholarly, peaceful days over there in the hot desert. But he suspected that she, like everyone else, was lonely without the rest of them and longing to get back on the seas again.

He entered the bar, receiving the same warm welcome he had at the dock when he arrived and all throughout the town on his way to the bar. He took off his hat in respect to the owner and held the old straw against his chest tenderly, his fingers grazing the frayed red ribbon. "Luffy!" one of the younger pirate captains called to him, "It's been awhile! How've ya been?"

It took a minute for Luffy to recognize who the young man was, but once he did, his smile grew, "Carrot!"

He grinned back, clearly happy that he had recognized him. He was seventeen now, as old as Luffy had been when he set out on the seas. "Where's, uh, Pepper and Onion?" Luffy asked, glancing around the bar for the other two of Usopp's old crew. He hadn't seen them in at least three years, since he returned to the East Blue to visit Dawn Island, stopping by Syrup Village on the way back to rest up and gather some supplies, much like he was planning on doing there in Mock Town.

Carrot shrugged, "They're around. Pepper's our shipwright and Onion is our navigator, now. We've got a pretty good crew."

Luffy nodded, "Yeah? And what's your dream? Not to be the Pirate King, right? I wouldn't want to have to kick your asses, too!" He let out a string of roaring laughter, and Carrot merrily joined in.

But he shook his head, "Definitely not, we'd never try to usurp an old friend. We're just sailing around breaking laws and getting treasure. Although I guess we each have our own individual goals. I'm looking for the perfect place to build a bar that everyone will love, Pepper wants to be a carpenter for the Galley-La Company in Water 7, and Onion wants to write books about our adventures on the Grand Lines."

"Water 7?" Luffy asked, "Two of my friends live there, and one of them is a shipwright for the Galley-La Company! Maybe you'll meet him one day — his name's Franky. You can't miss him, he's huge. Half-robot."

Carrot opened his mouth to reply, but a tankard of ale was slammed down onto the table Carrot was sitting at, spilling the yellow liquid all over the young pirate's shirt. The hand that accompanied the tankard was huge and brown and layered in coarse black hair. Carrot angrily stood up and started to draw his sword, but Luffy sent him a look that quickly had him returning to his seat. Luffy's dark eyes then turned to the man who had disrupted the friendly atmosphere.

The room was dead quiet; all eyes were on Luffy and the very tall, muscled man that stood over him.

"Pirate King 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy," the man growled, "today is the day you give up that title." He drew his sword, a long, thick thing that Luffy bet just by the way he held it that he could wield no more than a baby could hold a pen and write legibly.

"How does the expression go? 'If I had a beli for every time I heard that one . . .'" Luffy grinned, cracking his knuckles, ". . . I'd be richer than Karasumaru Nami."

The tall, hulking pirate snorted. "And you'll never have to hear it again after today, Straw Hat."

He took a step forward, and Luffy only looked up, meeting the man's eyes. Immediately, the man seized up, made a short gasping noise, and fell over. His sword clattered against the floor, fallen from the man's grip.

There was silence in the room as all the attendants stared at the results of what had just happened. Then, altogether, there was a joyous cheer and mugs of ale were raised and several shouts of victory rang in Luffy's ears. He managed a dry smile to ease the cheers and went to the bar to order something to eat.

As he sat down in the stool, he received several pats on the back of congratulations and a few praising words said his way. Luffy ignored most of this and looked at the bartender, who grinned and immediately strode over to stand in front of him, "The usual?" he asked him.

Luffy nodded, and the bartended turned to shout orders at the idling cooks, who immediately set to work. Luffy put his hat down on the counter, a sad smile on his face. He had meant to return that hat, and as a result of his carelessness, ended up keeping it for good. He hadn't visited Shanks' grave in a long while, or Ace's for that matter, maybe after Mock Town he'd head back over the Red Line again and go visit them . . .

The bartender placed four plates stacked with meat in front of Luffy, cutting off his solemn thoughts. Eagerly, he ate all of it in a matter of minutes. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and made a satisfied noise. "Any more?" the bartended asked, his hands busy drying a glass.

Luffy shook his head, "Nope, I have to get going. "

Chuckling, the bartender said, "Got a hot date?"

"Not exactly," Luffy shot him a humorous smile, then picked up his straw hat, hopped off the stool and made his way out, his long black coat swirling around him lazily and dragging behind him at his ankles.

From the side of the room sitting with his two companions, Carrot called out, "Leaving so soon, Luffy?" He looked a little saddened to see his old friend leaving.

Nodding, Luffy replied, "Yeah, things to do, people to see." He waved his hand at him and made his way to the doors.

Just as he was pushing open the bar doors, another voice called out his name, "Say, uh, wasn't Karasumaru Nami your navigator once?"

Luffy turned to look at him. He didn't recognize the man, but he was holding a newspaper and looking very concerned, which worried Luffy considered he had just asked about Nami. "Huh? Nami? Yeah, she was," came his reply. He took a few steps towards the man.

He held out the paper for Luffy to take. Tentatively, he reached forward and took it, his eyes searching for what the man was talking about.

His hands began to shake.

Across the front page of the newspaper, was the title "Karasumaru Nami Reported Kidnapped." Under the title showed a picture of his old nakama on the day she was apparently taken, walking into a theater to view the play premiering there as described in the text under the picture.

Luffy didn't bother reading the rest of the article, but he threw the newspaper back at the man and ran out of the bar, pushing his way past a couple of pirates who were walking in. They started to say hi, but Luffy was already far down the street, dodging people left and right and knocking a few things over in his hurry to the docks.

When he reached them, he practically flew onto the deck of his small ship and sprinted to the back to his quarters. Once there, he went to the large chest in the corner and picked the lid up, digging around through the horde of eternal poses that he had collected over the past five years. All the way at the very bottom, was the black communication device that he was looking for. He dug his arm all the way down and grabbed it, pulling it out through the mass of hourglass-shaped compasses.

He had never used the device before, and it had been five years since Franky he explained to him how to use it. He wasn't really sure now. However, there was only one switch, a light next to it that wasn't on, a speaker on the device and a receiver attached to it. Luffy managed to figure it out.

He flipped on the switch, the red light turning on. He then listened to the static for a long time, waiting for Franky to answer.

There was a clicking noise, and then a voice, "Franky here."

Luffy's voice caught in his throat, blocking his initial noise of surprise, but then he shouted, "Franky?" into the receiver .

"Yeah, I'm here," was his shipwright's answer.

For a second, Luffy had to gather his thoughts to figure out what exactly he wanted to say. "Nami's been kidnapped!" he started, "The newspaper today said it, it says it happened yesterday." He tried to keep himself calm, despite the rage that was bubbling up inside him and desperate to boil over and make him just let loose all over Jaya.

"Yeah, she was, I was waiting for orders from you," Franky told him.

Another wave of anger surged through Luffy, "Well my orders are to call the others immediately! We'll show them what happens when they hurt one of our nakama." His fists were balled tightly, his knuckles aching from the pressure, but Luffy was _mad_.

"I will."

Luffy nodded and slammed the receiver down and threw the communication device back in the chest, the rummaged around through it again until he found the eternal pose for Water 7. He slammed the chest lid back down and left his quarters, making his way to the dock to untie his ship from it.

A man on the dock looked at him peculiarly as he furiously untied the knots and threw the ropes back on his ship, his face clearly written with anger all over it.

Luffy pulled the anchor up as fast as he could, thinking of exactly what he was going to do to the people who had kidnapped Nami. He was done with letting his nakama down, he would never do it again as long as he lived. If it ever came down to it, he would gladly die for them, to lay his life down in order to save theirs at any cost.

He had already let that happen twice to two of the most important people in his life.

The bitter memory made him cringe and clutch the deep scar on his chest underneath his white, button-down shirt. He couldn't help but feel that it was his weakness and carelessness that had killed his brother and the only person he truly ever considered to be his father, not by blood, as that was Dragon's right but by their bond. He had let them die because he wasn't strong enough, and now, there was a very good chance that that nightmare could happen all over again.

Flashbacks appeared in his vision. Red plasma shot towards him, blocking his view. He prepared to die and then there was nothing but another kind of agony as he looked up and saw the hole in his brother's chest and felt him die in his arms. He saw the black nothingness that consumed Shanks and took his life while the Red-Haired Pirates' captain shouted at Luffy again and again to "Go! _Go_! _GO_!"

Even though both Akainu and Blackbeard were long in their graves, Luffy felt the hate that he would always have for those two build up to a boiling, explosive point. He would never forgive them for what he did to his nakama, and he would never forgive them for giving up their lives for _his_, for his dream.

Nami had accomplished her dream. She had maps up to her eyeballs of the world, more detail in some of them that they rivaled that of the best mapmakers in the world. And she was filthy rich, too. Likewise, Luffy reached his goal, too — he found the One Piece and became the Pirate King.

But what kind of Pirate King let his own nakama die?

He unfurled his sails, and with the Water 7 eternal pose in hand, started into the sea to set a course to save Nami.

Shanks' and Ace's graves would have to wait. Luffy had already failed both of them, he wasn't about to make the same mistake for the third time in his life.

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**I'm aware that Carrot, Pepper and Onion all have actual names but firstly I don't care enough to type all that out over and over when using the cute little veggie name but also for the readers' benefit, because not everyone is as obsessed as I am and may not know their Japanese name.**

**Oh, and I know that Luffy is very much OOC. But keep in mind that this is five years after the latest manga chapter, and a lot of things happened to Luffy that actually changed him a little — especially in the New World, like Shanks' death, (purely made-up, by the way, I hope Oda doesn't ever kill him D: ) so he's a lot different than back then. Basically he's a little more mature and responsible.**

**Now that that's settled, see you next time.**


	4. Of Zoro

**Whoa, sorry for the lack of updates, but I had no way of writing really. Bad virus. But anyway, all that's taken care of, so just enjoy. :D**

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**chapter four: of Zoro**

His sharp eyes observed his students with careful judgment as they swung their arms back and forth, all doing the exact same thing and doing it wrong. Sitting on the bench that Zoro was standing next to, Koshiro sighed and began to stand up. He straightened his spine as much as he could, looking at the students swing their practice katana in a swift, rhythmic movement. "They're still much too choppy about it," Koshiro commented.

Zoro eyed the old man's back briefly, "I'm aware."

The previous master of Isshin Dojo looked over his shoulder at Zoro and casted him a smile, "Of course you are. But you're their master, you're the one teaching them."

"I am," was his reply.

Koshiro clicked his tongue and flicked his fallen ponytail back over his shoulder so that it rested on his back again. The old man clearly did not approve of Zoro's lethargic but effective teaching style, since Koshiro had been much more hands on. Zoro didn't much care what he thought of how he handled his students, they were all far better than the students of the same age that Koshiro had when he taught. Zoro laughed quietly to himself, they may even be better than himself one day. It wasn't at all an unpleasant thought, in fact, he hoped one of them took his title of the greatest swordsman this side of the universe. Mihawk would have a good laugh about that and comment about the student surpassing the teacher once more.

Zoro missed that old killjoy. The retired swordsman was probably staring at the edge of the world right then, looking from his tower on Kuraigana Island. He did that far too often, Zoro thought.

He decided that his students had the rhythm down, so now all they were missing was the graceful slices through the air that they had been neglecting. They hadn't realized that this exercise was more about that then the rhythm itself. He sighed almost in annoyance — he didn't particularly prefer this batch of students over his others, but by the time he was done with them, they could rival anyone in the East Blue, the only exception being himself.

"Stop," he said, stepping forward. Koshiro looked up at him expectantly, as did everyone else in the room. Zoro explained that their sharp, choppy slashes wouldn't cut a leaf, and they had to execute a slash smoothly but still backed with strength. He didn't show them how to do this, he couldn't, they had to develop their own style and grow based on that.

He stepped back again and instructed them to continue. With a glance out the window, he noticed that it was close to dismissal time, the sun was beginning to hide behind the mountains.

"Oh, Zoro," Koshiro called, turning fully around and hobbling back over to the bench. He picked up the newspaper that was lying there and offered it to Zoro. "This front page's article, it's about Karasumaru Nami, your old nakama, right?"

Zoro took the newspaper from Koshiro's hand. He turned it over, and splashed across the front page was a picture of his old navigator, her name followed by the word "kidnapped" sticking boldly out. Zoro didn't read the article, and merely just looked at Nami's picture and that word next to her name with a silent rage bubbling deep in his gut. "When did you get this newspaper?" he asked Koshiro grimly.

The gray-haired man pursed his lips in thought, "Ah, this morning."

The urge to shout at his former swords master was very prominent in Zoro, but he contained himself. There wasn't anything he could do about Koshiro's bad timing now. He heaved an angry sigh and looked at his students, who were actually starting to get the grace he had informed them of in their rhythms. "I need to go," he told Koshiro. It was a long walk home and if his alarm had went off . . . The journey to Water 7 was not a short one.

He left the dojo, and behind him, he heard Koshiro giving orders to Zoro's students, much kinder than Zoro ever had. He was never harsh with his students, but neither was he very soft when it came to his teaching either. He slid the dojo's door closed and began the march into town, through the woods and up the mountain to his cabin.

Many of the people in the village started to wave in greeting or shout a hello, but with a glance at the expression on Zoro's face, the villagers wisely decided against it and turned away. They had not seen him so worked up since he was a kid, and the usually serene Zoro never expressed any angry emotions around them. Many of the villagers backed into their houses with the scent of fear wafting off of them.

Once outside the village, Zoro felt even angrier. The fact that the people had reacted so strongly to his anger bothered and annoyed him, only made more infuriated. They should've seen the paper, they knew about Zoro and his crew, they should understand.

He pulled Wadou Ichimonji from its sheath underneath his robe and slashed it angrily against the grove of trees to his right. The cut was so quick and smooth that the trees didn't even sway or fall over, the severed trunks rested on the rest of the trunk as if they hadn't been cut from each other a moment ago. A strong gust of wind would later come and knock them all down, surprising a couple of hikers.

The sun was resting behind the mountains now, casting dark shadows all around Zoro's path. He didn't mind, he was used to it. In fact, he didn't even so much as acknowledge the darkness that was settling around him. He was so angry. This was why they should have never separated, so this sort of stuff never happened. Where had Franky been? He was in Water 7 too, he should have been there for Nami. He should have stopped her from getting kidnapped, or at least have gotten her back by now. If Zoro had been there, those kidnappers wouldn't even stand a chance, regardless of who they were. Pirates, government, you name it, they would've been ripped to shreds. Who dared to touch the Pirate King's nakama?

Zoro slashed at another thicket of trees.

He passes his cabin, but ignores it and keeps walking. The path he's on continues through the mountains some more, he's been that way more times than he can count. He grips his sword tightly in his hand and swings his arm, slicing through the forest and scaring several birds from their nests.

A figure is walking up the path towards him. Zoro slows his pace and examines the hunched over look, the wobbly pace and gleaming spectacles. "Koshiro," he calls out to his old master, "what are you doing out here?" Zoro more so wanted to know _how_ old man had gotten out there, considered he had some great difficulty climbing stairs, let alone mountains.

"Well," he began, "I figured I should stop you from destroying any more of the forest, since it's dwindling pretty quickly by your sword there. Also," he stood in front of Zoro, a good head and a half shorter and old and frail, "I came to check on you."

"Why?"

Koshiro smiled that knowing smile of his, "The villagers were concerned by your stalk through the village. They said you a killing intent lurking about you. Some were more than a little frightened. You may owe a few apologies." Koshiro turned to look at Zoro's most recent attack on the trees, and he shook his head, "This trail will be much less scenic now . . ."

The swordsman ignored the comment. "My nakama is in danger; I'm going to blame myself."

Koshiro chuckled, "As if that's going to help her. I've heard many things from you about Karasumaru Nami, many things. If I know anything, I know she can handle herself, and that Pirate King captain of yours won't let anything happen to her. You shouldn't be putting this on yourself, we're only human, Zoro."

He was still extremely frustrated, and he wanted to lash out at Koshiro, but doing so would not affect the old man and they both knew it. He had been through too much to have a former, angry student get frustrated with what he was telling him and be bothered by it. "I know, but I'm so far away from them. I'm useless way out here."

"You're the one who chose to come out this far, you fool. You showed up, five years ago, looking for peace with the world. You still had a lot of hate and anger at yourself, all for things that were never and could never have been your fault. You have to learn to accept things as they are and deal with them accordingly. That's always been your weakness, Zoro."

Still, Zoro wanted to retaliate, but he knew the old dojo master was right. He always was. He gazed into the forest, where some trees were fallen from the diagonal slashes dealt by Wadou, and inhaled heavily and unsteadily. He had been shaking with rage. "I should never have come back here."

Koshiro laughed loudly at that, "Why is that? Because if you hadn't, you would've been able to prevent all of this? Stop being irrational. What would those kids back there do without you, their hero? They'd just have a has-been, sitting on my bench and telling them what to do. I can't move as well as I used to, they wouldn't learn anything. You've brought a gift here to these people. They have something they can be proud of." Koshiro shook his head and matched Zoro's gaze, "You're still putting this on yourself."

Zoro sheathed Wadou angrily and threw his arms up, "How could I not? This is my nakama, I should do everything in my power to protect them, and I didn't! You know what it's like to lose someone you love, why don't you understand?"

With that, Koshiro clicked his tongue and waved his hand at Zoro, "Because there is nothing to understand. What is done is done. There is nothing you can do now to change that." He began to turn, as if to walk away, but first he jabbed a sharp finger into Zoro's chest, "So stop blaming yourself and do something about it."

As he walked away, Zoro wondered what exactly Koshiro was talking about, because he had a feeling that by the end of the conversation, Nami's kidnap was not what the retired dojo master had been referring to. Zoro blinked and watched him hobble along down the path, whistling to himself as his gray ponytail swung back and forth with each step that he took. Zoro sighed tiredly and turned away, then started back up the path to his cabin.

By the time he reached it, the sun was gone, replaced by the faint crescent moon's light. Zoro kicked off his boots, shed his cloak and placed Wadou next to his other swords, the white sheath standing out against Kitetsu's and Shuusui's much darker sheaths. He ran a hand through his hair, pulling at the strands and deciding that he really needed a haircut.

He was exhausted. The burst of anger had drained all the energy from him and now he felt fatigued and tired to the bone. He grabbed the Sunny's alarm, which had not gone off yet, and went to his small bedroom, determined to let sleep wash away his stress and help him make a rash decision in the morning.

Sleep came quickly, but did not last long. He was pulled out of his slumber by an irritating and alarmingly loud sound. He blinked his eyes until his vision cleared, and across the room he saw that his alarm was going off. He scrambled out of bed and took the alarm, staring at it as it blinked an angry red and let off a horrible bleeping noise. He pushed the button on the side and the sound stopped, along with blinking. He wasn't sure what to do next for a moment.

Then he grabbed a pack that he had and shoved preserved food, clothes and the Water 7 eternal pose into it, just in case something happened to the alarm's built-in eternal pose. He knew how to get to the Grand Line by heart, he wasn't worried about get lost then, but without the eternal pose he was screwed. He pulled his boots and robe on and grabbed his swords, tying them to his waist. He opened the door when he thought of his dojo. He looked around in thought for a moment, and then he put his stuff back down. He grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and scribbled a note, telling anyone who was worried about where he was and cared enough to hike up to his cabin that he had gone to rescue his nakama, that he was not sure if he would ever return, and that he was leaving the dojo in the hands of Koshiro and Toshi, one of his older and most promising students. Satisfied that that took care of everything he needed to take care of, he left, practically running down the path that led into the village.

By routine, he almost took the turn that brought him to Isshin Dojo, but with a second thought he corrected himself and continued on to the docks. He had a small ship that he had obtained before he had even come back to the East Blue, so he wouldn't have to steal one of the villager's. He found it easily enough, and he threw his things in it while he untied it from the dock. Then he raised the anchor and the sails and let the wind carry him out of the dock. The Grand Line was about a week's journey, Water 7 was probably a good month and a half, but Zoro wasn't planning on stopping very often and his small ship was built for speed. He'd be there in a month, if he was lucky. He usually was.

He wondered how long it would take for the ero-cook to get the news. If he was going to the Grand Line, he was going to have to go by the cook's dumb restaurant. He would prefer not to see the curly-browed freak, but news always got to their little island at the base of Reverse Mountain late for some reason. But whether Sanji knew why he was going or not, the Sunny's alarm would go off and he'd have to go. So Zoro shouldn't have to worry about running into _him_ . . . That was one bright side of this trip.

By the time the sun came up again, Shimotsuki Village was far from his sight.

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**Yay, Zoro~**

**Reviews, pwease? :3**


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